Vol. 11, Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
BK Bhoite and Thaneshwari

Abstract:
An investigation was conducted to study the effect of different desiccant on dehydration of garden rose flowers at the Horticulture laboratory, Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India. Six different desiccants viz; boric acid, silica gel, boric acid + silica gel (ratio 1:1), sand, perlite and perlite + silica gel (ratio 1:1) along with one control treatment (drying without embedding media) was used in this experiment for drying of garden rose. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Among the different desiccants used for drying garden rose, silica gel was shown to be the most effective medium in terms of quantitative factors, including maximum reduction in flower weight (2.74g), minimum reduction in diameter (1.64 cm) and time taken for drying (100.30 hrs). For qualitative factors such as colour, texture and overall appearance outstanding result were shown in treatment where boric acid was used as desiccant.